This invention generally relates to display apparatus and more particularly relates to an autostereoscopic display apparatus providing a wide field of view, large viewing pupils, and high brightness.
The potential value of autostereoscopic display systems is well appreciated for a broad range of data visualization uses and for a wide range of applications that include entertainment, engineering, medical, government, security, and simulation fields. Autostereoscopic display systems include xe2x80x9cimmersionxe2x80x9d systems, intended to provide a realistic viewing experience for an observer by visually surrounding the observer with a three-dimensional (3-D) image having a very wide field of view. As differentiated from the larger group of stereoscopic displays that include it, the autostereoscopic display is characterized by the absence of any requirement for a wearable item of any type, such as goggles, headgear, or special polarized or filter glasses, for example. That is, an autostereoscopic display attempts to provide xe2x80x9cnaturalxe2x80x9d viewing conditions for an observer.
An article entitled xe2x80x9c3-D displays: A review of current technologiesxe2x80x9d by Siegmund Pastoor and Mathias Wopking in Displays 17 (1997) surveys various approaches that have been applied for obtaining autostereoscopic display images for one or more viewers. Among the many techniques described in the Pastoor et al. article are electro-holography, volumetric display, direction-multiplexed, diffraction-based, refraction-based, and reflection-based methods for autostereoscopic presentation. While each of these approaches may have merit in one or more specific applications, these approaches have a number of characteristic shortcomings that constrain usability and overall performance. As a group, these conventional approaches have been adapted for autostereoscopic displays, but allow only a narrow field of view and provide limited brightness and poor contrast. Imaging systems employing time-based or spatial multiplexing require complex image processing algorithms in order to provide left- and right-eye images in the proper sequence or with the necessary spatial separation. Time-based multiplexing introduces the inherent problem of image flicker. Spatial multiplexing generally produces an image having reduced resolution. Combining these multiplexing techniques, as is disclosed in European Patent Application EP 0 764 869 A2 to Ezra et al., may provide an increased number of views, but does not compensate for these inherent drawbacks. A number of multiplexing technologies also require tracking of view eye position and compensation for changes in head position. As a further disadvantage, each of the imaging technologies described in the Pastoor et al. article present the viewer with a real image, rather than with a virtual image.
In an article entitled xe2x80x9cAn Autostereoscopic Display Providing Comfortable Viewing Conditions and a High Degree of Telepresencexe2x80x9d by Klaus Hopf in IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, April, 2000, a teleconferencing system employing a spherical mirror is disclosed, recommended particularly for its value in reducing chromatic aberration. However, the optical system disclosed in this article is subject to field curvature constraints, limiting its field of view. Notably, the system described in the Hopf article provides a virtual image; however, due to substantial field curvature, the total field of view of such a system is limited to less than about 15 degrees. While such a narrow field of view may be acceptable for videoconferencing applications, this level of performance would not be useful for a desktop display system.
Virtual imaging provides an advantageous alternative to real image projection, as is used in the apparatus described in the Pastoor article and in EP 0 764 869 A2. In contrast to conventional projection methods for forming a real image, a virtual image is not formed on a display surface. That is, if a display surface were positioned at the perceived location of a virtual image, no image would be formed on that surface. Virtual image display has a number of inherent advantages, as is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,372 (Hildebrand et al.) As one significant advantage for stereoscopic viewing, the size of a virtual image is not limited by the size or location of a display surface. Additionally, the source object for a virtual image may be small; a magnifying glass, as a simple example, provides a virtual image of its object. Thus, it can be seen that, in comparison with prior art systems that project a real image, a more realistic viewing experience can be provided by forming a virtual image that is disposed to appear some distance away. Providing a virtual image also obviates any need to compensate for screen artifacts, as may be necessary when projecting a real image.
It is generally recognized that, in order to minimize vergence/accommodation effects, a 3-D viewing system should display its pair of stereoscopic images, whether real or virtual, at a relatively large distance from the observer. For real images, this means that a large display screen must be employed, preferably placed a good distance from the observer. For virtual images, however, a relatively small curved mirror can be used as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,300 (Walker et al.). The curved mirror acts as a collimator, forming a virtual image at a relatively large distance from the observer.
From an optical perspective, it can be seen that there would be advantages to autostereoscopic design using pupil imaging. A system designed for pupil imaging must meet a fairly demanding set of requirements, including the following:
(a) form separate images at left and right pupils correspondingly;
(b) provide the most natural viewing conditions, eliminating any need for goggles or special headgear;
(c) present the largest possible pupils to the observer, while limiting crosstalk between left and right views;
(d) allow reasonable freedom of movement;
(e) provide an ultra-wide field of view; and
(f) provide sufficient resolution for realistic imaging, with high brightness and contrast.
It is recognized in the optical arts that each of these requirements, by itself, can be difficult to achieve. An ideal autostereoscopic imaging system must meet the challenge of each of these requirements to provide a more fully satisfactory and realistic viewing experience. Moreover, additional physical constraints presented by the need for a system to have small footprint, and dimensional constraints for interocular separation must be considered, so that separate images directed to each eye can be advantageously spaced and correctly separated for viewing. It is instructive to note that interocular distance constraints limit the ability to achieve larger pupil diameter at a given ultrawide field by simply scaling the projection lens.
Clearly, the value and realistic quality of the viewing experience provided by an autostereoscopic display system using pupil imaging is enhanced by presenting the stereo 3-D image with a wide field of view and large exit pupil. For fully satisfactory 3-D viewing, such a system should provide separate, high-resolution images to right and left eyes. To create a realistic illusion of depth and width of field, the observer should be presented with a virtual image that requires the viewer to focus at some distance.
It is well known that conflict between depth cues associated with vergence and accommodation can adversely impact the viewing experience. Vergence refers to the degree at which the observer""s eyes must be crossed in order to fuse the separate images of an object within the field of view. Vergence decreases, then vanishes as viewed objects become more distant. Accommodation refers to the requirement that the eye lens of the observer change shape to maintain retinal focus for the object of interest. It is known that there can be a temporary degradation of a viewer""s depth perception when the viewer is exposed for a period of time to mismatched depth cues for vergence and accommodation. It is also known that this negative effect on depth perception can be mitigated when the accommodation cues correspond to distant image position.
There are also other basic optical limitations for immersion systems that must be addressed with any type of optical projection that provides a wide field of view. An important limitation is imposed by the Lagrange invariant. A product of the size of the emissive device and the numerical aperture, the Lagrange invariant determines output brightness and is an important consideration for matching the output of one optical system with the input of another. Any imaging system conforms to the Lagrange invariant, whereby the product of pupil size and semi-field angle is equal to the product of the image size and the numerical aperture. An invariant that applies throughout the optical system, the Lagrange invariant can be a limitation when using, as an image generator, a relatively small spatial light modulator or similar pixel array which operate over a relatively small numerical aperture, since the Lagrange value associated with the device is small. In practical terms, the larger the size of the image source, the easier it is to form an image having a wide field of view and large pupil.
In response to the need for more realistic autostereoscopic display solutions offering a wide field of view, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,181 (Kessler et al.), incorporated herein by reference and referred to as the ""181 patent, discloses an autostereoscopic imaging system using pupil imaging to display collimated left and right virtual images to a viewer. In the ""181 disclosure, a curved mirror is employed in combination with an imaging source, a curved diffusive surface, a ball lens assembly, and a beamsplitter, for providing the virtual image for left and right viewing pupils. Overall, the monocentric optical apparatus of the ""181 disclosure provides autostereoscopic imaging with large viewing pupils, a very wide field of view, and minimal aberration.
While the autostereoscopic system of the ""181 disclosure provides a high-performance immersive display, there is still room for improved embodiments. For example, while the ""181 system provides a large viewing pupil, there would be advantages in even further increases in pupil size. At the same time, however, some amount of correction may be needed, since eye movement within a larger viewing pupil can cause some amount of xe2x80x9cswimxe2x80x9d effect, in which pixels appear to shift position as the eye moves within the viewing pupil. In addition, as is well known in the imaging arts, some amount of spherical aberration is generally inherent in any optical system that employs a curved mirror for image collimation.
Generating its source image on a small spatial light modulator device, the ""181 system overcomes inherent Lagrange invariant conditions by forming an intermediate curved image for projection on a curved diffusive surface. Use of the diffuser with the ""181 apparatus is necessary because the image-forming device, typically a reflective LCD or other spatial light modulator, is a relatively small emissive device, measuring typically no more than about 1 inch square. At the same time, however, the use of a diffusive surface effectively reduces overall brightness, introduces some level of graininess to the image, and limits the achievable contrast.
There are other minor drawbacks to autostereoscopic displays that use the design approach of the ""181 disclosure. For example, slight xe2x80x9ckeystoningxe2x80x9d aberrations are detectable in a system using the ""181 design approach, due to the use of a single curved mirror; moreover, this effect is compounded by right and left images exhibiting keystoning in opposite orientations with respect to the final image. As another example, beamsplitter 16 deployment introduces other minor imaging aberrations, requiring the use of beamsplitting components that are very thin, fragile, and somewhat costly.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need for an improved autostereoscopic imaging apparatus that provides improved brightness, enhanced viewing pupil dimensions, reduced image aberrations, and higher resolution.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an autostereoscopic display device having improved viewing pupil size, brightness, and resolution, with reduced optical aberrations. With this object in mind, the present invention provides an autostereoscopic optical apparatus for viewing a stereoscopic virtual image comprising a left image to be viewed by an observer at a left viewing pupil and a right image to be viewed by the observer at a right viewing pupil, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a left image generation system for forming a left curved intermediate image comprising:
(i) a left curved mirror having a left mirror center of curvature;
(ii) a left beamsplitter disposed between the vertex of the left curved mirror and the left mirror center of curvature;
(iii) a left image source for providing light to the left curved mirror, the left curved mirror cooperating with the left beamsplitter to form a left intermediate image of the left image source, the left intermediate image having a left image center of curvature;
(iv) a left ball lens segment, centered about the left image center of curvature, for forming the left curved intermediate image from the left intermediate image of the left image source;
(b) a right image generation system for forming a right curved intermediate image comprising:
(i) a right curved mirror having a right mirror center of curvature;
(ii) a right beamsplitter disposed between the vertex of the right curved mirror and the right mirror center of curvature;
(iii) a right image source for providing light to the right curved mirror, the right curved mirror cooperating with the right beamsplitter to form a right intermediate image of the right image source, the right intermediate image having a right image center of curvature;
(iv) a right ball lens segment, centered about the right image center of curvature, for forming the right curved intermediate image from the right intermediate image of the right image source;
(c) a ball lens imaging curved mirror having a focal surface and having a center of curvature, the center of curvature placed substantially optically midway between the left ball lens segment and the right ball lens segment, wherein the left curved intermediate image from the left image generation system and the right curved intermediate image from the right image generation system lie substantially on the focal surface;
(d) a third beamsplitter disposed between the focal surface and the center of curvature of the ball lens imaging curved mirror, the ball lens imaging curved mirror and the third beamsplitter cooperating to form, at the left viewing pupil:
(i) a real image of the left ball lens segment; and
(ii) a virtual image of the left curved intermediate image;
the ball lens imaging curved mirror and the third beamsplitter further cooperating to form, at the right viewing pupil:
(i) a real image of the right ball lens segment; and
(ii) a virtual image of the right curved intermediate image.
It is a feature of the present invention that it provides a completely specular autostereoscopic imaging display apparatus, without the need for curved diffusive surfaces. This allows image brightness to be optimized and allows improved contrast over earlier design solutions.
It is an advantage of the present invention that it uses a larger imaging display than previous solutions, relaxing Lagrange invariant constraints on available luminance.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that it provides an improved viewing pupil size when compared with earlier solutions.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that it provides a compact autostereoscopic display system providing a virtual image.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.